Work sites, such as construction sites and oil drilling sites, often occur in areas where there is no prepared road bed. Heavy equipment used at the work site require a suitable road bed that is stable to prevent the equipment from becoming stuck in the soft ground.
A common practice for many years has been to construct a temporary road bed from wood planks that are laid on the ground and nailed together. Typically, a second and third layer of wood planks are laid on top of the base layer in alternating directions and secured together by nails. The number of layers of wood planks can vary depending on the stability of the ground and the weight of the equipment that will travel over the road.
Construction of a temporary road bed using individual boards is costly and labor intensive. The heavy equipment that travels over the road bed often damages a large number of the boards so that the boards cannot be reused. Disassembly of the road bed is also labor intensive and damages many of the boards not previously damaged during use. As a result, a significant portion of the boards used to construct the road bed are discarded.
Various methods have been proposed to form a temporary road bed using preassembled mats constructed from wood boards. These mats typically include a structure for interlocking with an adjacent mat. These preconstructed mats are generally intended to be reusable by disassembling the road bed and transporting the mats to a new location.
Numerous examples of preconstructed mats for use in constructing a temporary road bed or flooring system are known. One example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,944 to Penland. The mat disclosed therein includes interlocking ends and sides for connecting a plurality of mats together. Each mat is formed from two layers of boards that are attached together. The first layer includes a plurality of boards having different lengths to form interlocking tabs at one end. The second layer is formed from boards extending perpendicular to the boards of the first layer and staggers the boards to form locking tabs at one end and locking slots at the opposite end.
Examples of other mats for use in constructing a temporary road bed are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,420 to Davis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,337 to Sarver, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,444 to Pouyer. These devices are similar in that they are constructed of boards assembled in various layers and formed with an interlocking connection for connecting with a similar mat.
The prior methods of constructing a temporary road bed are generally expensive and time consuming. Although the preconstructed mats can reduce the time for constructing a temporary road, the cost of manufacturing the mats and the difficulty of moving and assembling the mats have limited their use.
In view of the deficiencies of the prior methods and devices, a continuing need exists in the industry for an improved method and device for constructing a temporary road bed.